Michael Stott is a Senior Creative within the Havas Lynx EU team. With over 9 years’ experience across the advertising and design industry, from consumer, public sector and healthcare, he brings a varied and unique perspective, pushing the creative output of the LYNX EU team.

A few weeks ago I was offered an opportunity you don’t turn down; the chance to work in New York at our sister agency in Manhattan, on Madison Avenue no less. Within a week of being asked if I’d be up for a 2 week trip to the Big Apple I was on a plane excited for the challenge ahead.

For many familiar with a certain famous HBO show, I was going to be an actual Mad Man for a few weeks; very appropriate to Lynx!

Leaving Draper, Sterling, Holloway, Pryce and Cooper behind to work with our counterparts in the US on live work, delving into their ambitions for healthcare marketing, their day-to-day processes and the challenges they face was one I was very eager to experience, learn from and measure myself against.

It was a trade, as is customary in American sports. The trade; Jayme Pignatello, a very talented writer would travel to Manchester, taking residence within the Draper team to support them on some of their work. I know Draper found her a great asset whilst she told me she received a warm welcome from Phil and the team and managed to witness a dry Manchester for a whole two weeks while Manhattan was significantly wetter.

Meeting the team on my first day – and being welcomed from the account services staff, the creatives, writers, the strategy leads, their human behaviours expert to the senior leadership team, complete with a tour of their amazing office space – was a great indicator of the resource and talent Havas Lynx have on both sides of the Atlantic. All of whom are committed to producing great work in our sector and making a real difference.

My days in the office were productive and the work came thick and fast assisting Joe Mercaux and Lisa Nesbitt on an interesting and developing account in the ‘wellness’ area, and then more extensively on a Toujeo job with Mike Dreeland and John Berzolla.

My evenings were spent, camera in hand, experiencing as much of the city that never sleeps as I could. Looking up and down the streets and avenues, observing people who are lucky enough to call this metropolis ‘home’. My Instagram feed became my outlet to show the sights and scenes of New York that caught my eye.

The team ran through their work and in turn I shared some of the great work we do across the Manchester teams. We discussed the differences and unifiers in our working approaches and creative ambitions for every brief and our clients.

The Lynx NY team were incredibly hospitable! I was treated to a very competitive Beer Pong and Flip Cup session at the end of the first week. A night at the Comedy Cellar complete with Louis CK surprising us all with a cameo. We managed to eat grasshoppers. They shared inspirations and their favourite places in New York and offered time and company throughout my stay.

I had a great lunch with their CCO, Erik Mednis, talking about the nature of healthcare marketing in the US, his ambitions for his team to be at the forefront of creativity and technology in healthcare, our office cultures, his experience of the Manchester team and the potential for more connections between the two offices.

My biggest realisation was just how big an opportunity Lynx is for those of us working with this diverse and multi-faceted organisation. Not only do we work on accounts at the forefront of the sector producing incredible results for our clients & changing lives in the process; but the culture and approach is unparalleled and distinguishes us as a special place to work in New York or Manchester.

I hope that we can enable more exchanges between our teams and learn from each other, embrace our differences and improve our outcomes together in a world that is changing quickly and needs a flexible and creative approach whatever the brief.

Thank you to Havas Lynx NY and Havas Lynx EU for an incredible experience.